First in POLITICO Playbook: Mark Meadows to leave Congress, plus what McConnell will say on impeachment  —  “OBVIOUSLY, I'VE LOOKED AT THIS AS A TEMPORARY JOB,” Meadows told us in an interview Wednesday, speaking of serving in the House.  “Endorsed term limits — never ran on a term-limit pledge.

George Conway: Republican senators run the risk of being shamed by Trump himself  —  George T. Conway III is a lawyer in New York and an adviser to the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump super PAC.  —  In his unhinged letter Tuesday, President Trump accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of having …

White House defends Trump as ‘counter-puncher’ after he suggests late Michigan congressman in hell  —  The president suggested the late Rep. John Dingell was “looking up.”  —  WASHINGTON — After President Donald Trump lashed out against a Michigan congresswoman for supporting his impeachment …

Twelve Million Phones, One Dataset, Zero Privacy  —  EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY, everywhere on the planet, dozens of companies — largely unregulated, little scrutinized — are logging the movements of tens of millions of people with mobile phones and storing the information in gigantic data files.

Putin: Trump impeachment ‘far-fetched,’ Senate will acquit  —  MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin called the U.S. impeachment process “far-fetched” Thursday, making a seemingly obvious prediction that Donald Trump will be acquitted in the Senate.

CNN Poll: Joe Biden holds lead heading into December debate  —  (CNN)Joe Biden continues to hold a lead in the race for the Democratic nomination for president and remains the candidate potential Democratic voters think has the best shot to defeat Donald Trump, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS.

How 2 Soviet Émigrés Fueled the Trump Impeachment Flames  —  “Lev and Igor” were obscure businessmen who became fixtures of the Republican donor set.  Then they played an unlikely role in the proceedings gripping the nation.  —  On a warm summer evening last year …

Trump Tells Rally He's ‘Not Worried’ About Impeachment, Privately Plots Vengeance  —  As Trump smirked about hot fighter pilots and complained about toilets to an adoring crowd Wednesday, he was thinking about how to make Democratic leaders pay for impeaching him.

Exclusive: Phrase ‘White Nationalists’ Cut From Measure To Screen Military Enlistees  —  Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), the measure's author, fears other lawmakers are not taking the threat of white nationalists in the military seriously.  —  A measure in the National Defense Authorization Act meant …

Modi Makes His Bigotry Even Clearer  —  A citizenship law helps non-Muslim refugees from Muslim-majority countries but ignores Muslim refugees from other nations.  —  The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values.

The Rolling Stone Interview  —  On the campaign trail in Iowa with the progressive warrior as she tries to prove she's the Democrats' best chance to beat Trump  —  It's late November at the Val Air Ballroom in West Des Moines, Iowa, a Forties dance hall converted from a World War I tire factory …

U.S. Envoy to Ukraine Was Asked to Step Aside Ahead of Pompeo Visit  —  Timing counters earlier suggestions that Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor's precise departure date was predetermined  —  Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor was instructed by a top aide to Secretary …

Trump Administration Lists Wakanda as Free Trade Partner on Government Website  —  President Trump's trade war got more—or less—surreal this week when it was discovered the Trump administration listed Wakanda as a free trade partner on a tool created by the Department of Agriculture …

ANALYSIS: In impeachment vote, how Republicans got to zero  —  After rushed and intense proceedings into the Ukraine affair, the House has voted to impeach President Trump.  The vote was 230 to 197 for the first article of impeachment charging the president with abuse of power and 229 to 198 …

The Best of Books 2019  —  The best books we reviewed this year, selected by Foreign Affairs editors and book reviewers.  —  EDITORS' PICKS  —  Keefe's fine, searching book shows that the political agreement formally resolving the conflict in Northern Ireland marked only the beginning of a long …

Tom Perez's Preposterous Debate Rules  —  “I do think that the debate rules have been deeply destructive to the field and to my campaign.  It has made it hard to raise money because people view the debates as sort of a proxy for success.”  —  The speaker was Colorado Senator Michael Bennet …

‘Ban the box’ pro-criminal legislation snuck into ... the national DEFENSE bill  —  Yesterday, we learned that an amnesty provision for Liberians was slipped into what was supposed to be a national defense bill for our own homeland, citizens, and soldiers.  Well, it turns out that there is …

The House's Sad, Predictable, Partisan, and Historic Impeachment of Donald Trump  —  It was a sad day—on that, at least, everyone could agree.  On her way to the House floor, soon after 9 a.m., to begin the historic debate on the impeachment of Donald Trump, the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, told reporters that she felt “sad.”

President Trump's Fox obsession reshaped the political universe in 2019 … In 2019, President Donald Trump's obsession with Fox News had a major impact on the nation's political environment, driving the administration's responses to a sea of scandals and crises that have culminated …

In the End, Impeachment Was the Only Choice  —  When historians look back at this era, their curiosity will settle not on the question of why the House impeached President Trump, but why it impeached him for this particular offense.  Trump has spent three years violating laws and norms …